• Users Online: 17982
  • Home
  • Print this page
  • Email this page
Home About us Editorial board Ahead of print Current issue Search Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Contacts Login 


 
 Table of Contents  
GUEST EDITORIAL
Year : 2019  |  Volume : 9  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 1-2

Dental practice management in the dental curriculum


Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Vivekanandha Dental College for Women, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India

Date of Web Publication11-Oct-2019

Correspondence Address:
Thangadurai Maheswaran
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Vivekanandha Dental College for Women, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu
India
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/ijmd.ijmd_19_19

Rights and Permissions

How to cite this article:
Maheswaran T. Dental practice management in the dental curriculum. Indian J Multidiscip Dent 2019;9:1-2

How to cite this URL:
Maheswaran T. Dental practice management in the dental curriculum. Indian J Multidiscip Dent [serial online] 2019 [cited 2024 Mar 29];9:1-2. Available from: https://www.ijmdent.com/text.asp?2019/9/1/1/268986



Recently, I realized the importance of “Dental Practice Management,” 14 years after my graduation while attending a continuing dental education (CDE) program at our dental institution. Practice management is often overlooked in the formal dental education system all over the world. The students of Harvard School of Dental Medicine, the first university-based dental school in the United States established in 1857, have consistently requested a practice management course as part of the core curriculum, understanding that running a successful business will be integral to their success as practitioners.[1]

New dentists at the beginning of their individual clinical practice find themselves focusing on a number of administrative tasks, including financial planning, human resources management, legal compliance, buying equipment, maintaining inventories, and marketing management. Each of these areas requires skill sets that must be mastered to lead and manage a successful business enterprise.[2]

It is also widely recognized that healthcare providers need appropriate interpersonal communication skills and that these skills can be learned. Good communication is the basis of effective patient care and management.[3] Although the governing body in India (Dental Council of India) has outlined the basic portion of communication skill and patient psychology in dental syllabus, clarity as to how it will be taught (teaching methodology), who will teach that (qualification and expertise of teaching faculty), and when it should be taken (accommodation in existing curriculum) is not mentioned.[4] Similarly, in many North American dental schools, training in interpersonal communication skills appears to be inadequate. It is not well integrated into the 4-year curriculum, does not include any theoretical background, is taught mostly using passive learning techniques, and does not include adequate student evaluation.[3]

We excel in educating students in the art and science of dentistry by focusing on knowledge in the basic medical sciences and the development of clinical skills of dentistry.[5] Practice management seems to be a subject that we dental educators never seem to get quite right. Surveys of graduating students usually point that as an area which needs improvement in their education.[6],[7] The traditional curricular path in which business and management skills are emphasized in dental schools is in practice management courses.[2] In India, the present BDS course regulations (2007) of Dental Council of India prescribes dental practice management under the subject of public health dentistry.[8]

Once a dental student leaves the academic environment, the business aspect of dentistry is often learned through mentoring by an established practitioner, on the job training, peer mentoring, and continuing education courses.[2] For example, the CDE regulations (2018) of the Dental Council of India stipulates that every dentist has to secure minimum five credit hours/points on dental practice management, every 5 years.[9] Yet, this approach may be dated for new graduates facing the challenges of today's complex and dynamic economic environments.[2] Hence, implementation of well-integrated, adequate practice management curriculum during under graduation (BDS) will equip the dentist to deal effectively both the opportunities and challenges of dental profession.



 
  References Top

1.
Kalenderian E, Skoulas A, Timothé P, Friedland B. Integrating leadership into a practice management curriculum for dental students. J Dent Educ 2010;74:464-71.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Barber M, Wiesen R, Arnold S, Taichman RS, Taichman LS. Perceptions of business skill development by graduates of the University of Michigan Dental School. J Dent Educ 2011;75:505-17.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Yoshida T, Milgrom P, Coldwell S. How do U.S. and Canadian dental schools teach interpersonal communication skills? J Dent Educ 2002;66:1281-8.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Murthy V, Rajaram S, Choudhury S, Sethuraman KR. Are we training enough of communication skills and patient psychology required in dental practice. J Clin Diagn Res 2017;11:ZE01-4.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Taichman RS, Parkinson JW, Nelson BA, Nordquist B, Ferguson-Young DC, Thompson JF Jr. Leadership training for oral health professionals: A call to action. J Dent Educ 2012;76:185-91.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Karimbux NY. Teaching dental practice management in a time of change. J Dent Educ 2015;79:463-4.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Nazir MA, Izhar F, Tariq K, Anjum KM, Sohail ZB, Almas K. A cross-sectional study of dentists about the need for a practice management course in undergraduate dental program. Eur J Dent 2018;12:508-15.  Back to cited text no. 7
[PUBMED]  [Full text]  
8.
Dental Council of India. BDS Course Regulations; 2007. Available from: http://www.dciindia.gov.in/Rule_Regulation/Revised_BDS_Course_Regulation_2007.pdf. [Last accessed on 2019 Mar 18].  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9.
Dental Council of India. Continuing Dental Education Regulations; 2018. Available from: http://www.dciindia.gov.in/Rule_Regulation/Continuing_Dental_Education_Regulations_2018.pdf. [Last accessed on 2019 Mar 18].  Back to cited text no. 9
    




 

Top
 
 
  Search
 
Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
Access Statistics
Email Alert *
Add to My List *
* Registration required (free)

 
  In this article
References

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed3858    
    Printed360    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded44    
    Comments [Add]    

Recommend this journal


[TAG2]
[TAG3]
[TAG4]